KiwiRail

KiwiRail freight services in Christchurch resumed normal
service today following last month's devastating quake,
though the company is asking those concerned by the noise and
vibrations to contact its call centre.

A meeting to organise a campaign to ensure New Zealand rail
stock is built in New Zealand has demanded the cancellation
of a contract that dealt a major blow to Dunedin's Hillside
Workshops.

Spokesman for the newly formed Kiwi Wagons for KiwiRail
campaign, Victor Billot, said the goal was the cancellation
of a contract given to China CNR Corporation to build the
first 300 of 3000 container flatdeck wagons to replace
KiwiRail's ageing fleet.

The state-owned company awarded the estimated $29 million
contract to the Chinese company last year, prompting
criticism and disappointment among supporters and employees
at the Dunedin workshop.

An uncontrolled Taranaki rail crossing where a woman died
yesterday was high on Kiwi Rail's priority list for
installing flashing lights - something locals have been
calling for over the past 20 years.

Railway wagons built in China
and bound for New Zealand's railway network may end up
gathering dust at a New Zealand port if the Maritime Union
carries out its threat not to unload the ships on which they
arrive.

Hillside Engineering workers do not believe the Chinese
company contracted to build KiwiRail's new wagons will get
the job done on time, Rail and Maritime Transport Union
national president Jim Kelly says.

The decision by KiwiRail to award the tender contract for 300
container flat-deck wagons to the China CNR Corporation
against its own Dunedin Hillside Engineering workshops is a
savage blow to the city and the province and leaves the
Government vulnerable to accusations of "short-termism".